Walking on Clouds
by bballgirl32
Summary: It's the first anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, and Sirius Black and Fred Weasley are anxious to see how their familes and friends are coping. The two men sneak out of heaven to check on their familes and find peace and closure with themselves.


**A/N- This story was written at the request TeamGredAndForge, who won a contest I had put up in one of my other stories. It's kind of unconventional, but I wanted to add a unique twist to the prompt that I was given, so, here it is. I hope everyone likes it, and please review. **

**...**

Two men walked side by side, their footsteps sweeping aside wisps of clouds as they ambled through the sky. Whispers reached their ears and shadows appeared at the corners of their eyes, but those were only taunting glimpses of others who were walking the border between the living and the dead. Fred Weasley and Sirius Black were, for all intents and purposes, completely alone.

"I don't know if we should do this," Sirius said. His gray eyes were burning with a determination not commonly seen among the dead. Fred sighed. A lot of souls were looking more alive than they should have been. It was what happened when people were yanked away from the earth so prematurely.

"We won't get in too much trouble," Fred assured Sirius. "Just a quick looksee, and then we'll go straight on back to heaven. I'm sure that Lupin won't even lecture us if we make sure to check up on Teddy."

Sirius released a puff of air, his gray eyes melancholy. "I know, but maybe they are right. What the living do… no longer concerns us."

"There's nothing wrong with making sure that everyone is okay," insisted Fred. He was going down to Earth whether Sirius came with him or not. He could get banished to hell for all he cared, but he _had _to see his family.

"Well, then I suppose that we'd better get started," said Sirius. He didn't look too regretful; Fred knew that he wanted to check up on everyone just as much as he did. He was just trying to be the responsible one, since obviously Fred wasn't. "Let's go to Andromeda's first, so we don't forget to check up on Teddy for Remus."

Fred nodded, then the two men gripped each other's arms, closed their eyes, and brought forth a mental image of their destination. A second later, they were standing in the middle of Andromeda Tonks's cozy little living room.

On the sofa, Andromeda was hunched in on herself, a small, blue-haired boy in her lap. Tears were running down her pretty face, and her hair, which was streaked with gray that wasn't there before, flew in wild strands around her head. "Merlin… Andy," Sirius muttered. Fred glanced over to make sure that his friend was okay, and Sirius added, "I've never seen her cry before… and when she's finally beat into doing it, it has to be alone."

"She's not alone," Fred reminded him. The little boy in her arms shifted, and the crying woman forced a smile at the small, brown-eyed child. "The little bugger can help her through it, don't worry."

Sirius shook his and nodded. "Right… right. He's… he's even got Remus's eyes. Tonks's hair, though. I'll have to be sure to tell them that."

Fred smiled, and the two men headed to their next destination.

Hogwarts's Great Hall was filled with students, even more than usual to make up for those who missed their seventh year due to the war. The evening meal was unnaturally quiet, but the mood in the room was one of weary acceptance. A statue of a Phoenix sat proudly next to the staff table. Fred noticed the engraved plate at the bottom and shivered, knowing that his name would probably be found on the list of the dead.

Tearing his eyes away, he scanned the tables, but there was no red hair to be found. Fred knew that none of his family was dead, but he still found himself worried. A closer inspection found that Harry and Hermione were absent, too.

"They'll be at the Burrow," said Sirius, keeping pace with Fred's thoughts. "I can't imagine Harry wanting to stay to get honored at whatever ceremony they've got planned for tonight."

"Right…" Fred said. "We… we can go there next."

Before they left, Fred let his eyes wander across the Great Hall. He found the Slytherin table first. Blaise Zabini, Draco Malfoy and the Greengrass sisters were huddled at the very edge, shoulders bent as if to deflect some kind of imaginary blows. The rest of the table was positioned the same way, trying to protect themselves from the memories of what their parents and housemates had done in the past. Fred couldn't help but notice how Draco had his arm wrapped around Astoria's shoulders, pulling her into him like he could protect her from everything that had happened. For the first time, Fred felt a kind of almost-respect for Draco Malfoy.

Beside the Slytherins were the Hufflepuffs, the table alight with soft smiles and subdued laughter. Neville, to Fred's surprise, sat at that table with his arm wrapped around a pretty blonde-haired girl. He was grinning down at her like he was holding an angel. At the Ravenclaw table, Luna Lovegood was skimming through an issue of the Quibbler, looking almost ethereal in the hazy light from the cloud-covered ceiling. A long red curse-scar ran down her face, but her smile glowed so brightly that it was hardly even noticeable. Under the crimson and gold banner, Dennis Creevey sat with a camera in his hands and tears in his eyes. Lavender Brown was sitting a few people down from him, her chin held high, proudly displaying the fierce scars that ripped across her once pretty face. Fred thought that she had never looked more beautiful.

"Are you ready?" Sirius asked gently. Fred took one last look at the Great Hall, then nodded.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm ready."

They went to the Burrow next. As Sirius had said, his missing family was gathered there. Ron and Hermione were snuggled up on the couch, Hermione's head resting on Ron's chest. Her eyes were closed tightly, and Fred knew that she would be thinking of everything that had been lost in the war. The ghosts of her past were written on the tight lines of her face, across her clenched fists and shadowed eyes. Ron clutched onto her tightly, his secure grip the only sign that he had any worries at all. Unlike Hermione, Ron was smiling, his face lit up with joy at the safety and freedom he had finally earned.

Across from them was Percy. Fred felt himself choke up as he remembered his brother, finally finding his way back to their family just soon enough to apologize to him. His eyes were haunted by the guilt of something that wasn't his fault, and everything about his demeanor was stiff, as if he still wasn't sure whether or not he belonged in the family. On his arm was a curly-haired beauty with hope-filled eyes, and Fred didn't miss the engagement ring that decorated her finger.

Then there was Harry. The Boy-Who-Lived reclined back into a worn loveseat with easy confidence, his eyes bright with victory. Fred couldn't help but think that Harry looked stronger, more youthful, than he had during any of his years at Hogwarts. It was like some enormous weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, finally allowing him to be happy. Ginny grinned up at Harry, love written in every line of her face, and Fred couldn't help but hope that maybe the couple would have a happy ending after all.

Fred spun throughout the room, searching for more people, but there were none. His parents were nowhere in sight, Bill and Charlie were both gone, and George… there was absolutely no sign of George.

"Where could they be, Sirius?" Fred asked nervously. He had the sensation that his heart had leapt up into his throat, even though he was pretty sure that all of his internal organs were long gone.

"I- what?" asked Sirius. He had eyes only for his godson, his hands held up as if to frame Harry's face. Fred backed away a little. He'd never liked tender moments, and the look of longing in Sirius's eyes wasn't something that he wanted to see, especially knowing how much it was mirrored in his own.

Fred wanted to be a part of his family again. He wanted to be able to threaten Harry into taking care of his sister. He wanted to assure Percy that he didn't deserve to keep beating himself up over his mistakes, and to tell Hermione that she _needed _to let go of the past, and… and to hug Ginny and remind her that he loved her, even if he had picked on her a lot… to thank Percy's fiancée for daring to put up with him, and… to make _everyone_ laugh. He wanted to erase the traces of war from their faces, to make them forget, and he wanted to know why in the hell George wasn't doing it himself.

Then the door to the Burrow opened, and Fred was jerked roughly from his thoughts. His parents bustled into the house, followed by Bill, who had his arm wrapped around a pale-looking but beautiful Fleur, who was… who was holding a tiny bundle of pink. Fred made his way over to them, holding his hands out over the scrunched up little baby as Charlie followed Fleur in and closed the door behind them.

Everyone in the room hopped to their feet, all of them expressing some form of delight over the arrival of the baby. Bill softly encouraged Fleur to give the child to their mother, and then led her off to sit down on the couch. Everyone else crowded around Molly Weasley, smiling at the blue-eyed baby in wonder.

"Her name is Victoire Anne," said Molly. "Victory." Her eyes were brimming with tears. Fred swallowed. He hadn't even thought about the possibility… the rest of his family had all been at St. Mungo's, and now he had a niece… except he didn't. He was dead, and he wouldn't get the chance to see her grow up. He couldn't be the fun Uncle Fred and sneak her extra candy, or convince her to blow up dungbombs under her mother's chair, or warn her about how icky guys were, and how she should never, ever have a boyfriend.

Then Fred looked at the faces of all his brother's surrounding her, at their freckled smiles and shining eyes, and he realized that he wouldn't have to be. She'd have plenty of love, and even though they would all tell her about her dead uncle, she wouldn't miss him. With the thought came a strange sense of acceptance, and Fred sighed. Lupin was right. There wasn't any reason for the dead to sneak down to the world of the living. Fred had his life… or afterlife, now, and the rest of his family were getting on with lives of their own.

"Are you ready to go?" Sirius asked glumly, clearly thinking along the same lines.

Fred shook his head. He wasn't ready to go. Not yet. George was still missing, and there was no way that he was going to leave without caching a glimpse of his twin brother. He… he just had to make sure that he was okay.

"You go ahead. I have one more visit to make, and I need to do it by myself. Er, cover for me with the guy upstairs, won't you?"

Sirius choked out a smile. "Of course. Although, I doubt He'll be surprised. He had to have expected that we'd be crazy enough to sneak back down here. I… I'll see you when you're done."

Then Sirius floated up to the sky. Fred gazed at his family, doing his best to hold back all the emotions that were threatening to overtake him. "I… I love you," he whispered, but, of course, everyone's attention was on baby Victoire. No one heard him.

Fred didn't hesitate. As if in a vision, his next destination came to him without a trace of doubt. He closed his eyes and pictured the cemetery that was located only a few miles outside of Ottery St. Catchpole. George and he had played there all the time when they were younger, hiding behind headstones and jumping out to scare passerby, having snowball fights over the Christmas holidays, daring each other to run through it at night…

Never once had it crossed Fred's mind that he would by lying six feet deep before his twenty-first birthday.

Fred dismissed the thought and floated through the rows of gravestones. The cemetery appeared to be empty at first, but it wasn't long before he found a figure huddle in front of one of the markers…

No, Fred realized with a jolt. There were two people there, two familiar figures.

George was easy to recognize. He looked good, Fred realized with relief. There was life in his eyes, and even though his face was twisted with painful sadness, his lips were curved up into a weak smile.

Beside him was Angelina Johnson. She was still beautiful, her dark hair swaying freely down her back, looking like a goddess with her glowing mocha-skin and dark-chocolate eyes. A bright white sundress fluttered lightly in the breeze, giving her troubled form a serene appearance.

They held hands, so tightly Fred didn't know if anything could ever make them let go. George still mourned him, still missed him in a way that was painfully obvious, but Fred could see now that his twin no longer needed him. The thought filled Fred with an empty sadness, but it also made him smile. George would be happy. He had a family to fall back on, and his own strength to push him forward. Like Andromeda and Teddy, like the shamefaced Slytherins, or the quietly smiling Neville, the wistful Luna, and the tight group of Weasleys, George was moving on.

Fred sighed sadly when he reminded himself that he had to do the same.

"Good-bye, Forge…" he said softly, and he swore that his brother turned to lock eyes with him for just a moment before Fred faded away completely.

Back in the cemetery, George Weasley closed his eyes and quietly whispered, "Good-bye Gred."


End file.
